From new cancer treatments to an exploration of how technology affects
the adolescent brain, the innovative research of America’s future
scientists, engineers and inventors took center stage in the nation’s
capital today. Honoring high school seniors with exceptional scientific
promise, Intel Corporation and Society for Science & the Public (SSP)
recognized the winners of the Intel Science Talent Search, the nation’s
most prestigious pre-college science and math competition.

Eric S. Chen, 17, of San Diego won the top award of $100,000 from the
Intel Foundation for his research of potential new drugs to treat
influenza. His interdisciplinary approach combined computer modeling
with structural studies and biological validation, with a focus on drugs
that inhibit endonuclease, an enzyme essential for viral propagation.
Eric, the co-president of his school’s fencing team and a junior
Olympics qualifier, hopes his work will lead to a new class of drugs to
control flu outbreaks during a pandemic, allowing time for a vaccine to
be developed.

Second-place honors and $75,000 went to Kevin Lee, 17, of Irvine,
Calif., who developed a mathematical model to describe the shape of the
heart as it beats using the principles of fluid mechanics. Kevin’s
faster and computationally efficient model could provide insights into
arrhythmia and may lead to better treatments for the disease.

Third-place honors and $50,000 went to William Henry Kuszmaul, 17, of
Lexington, Mass., who developed a new approach to the mathematics of
modular enumeration, which has applications to a wide number of problems
in computer science, bioinformatics and computational biology.

“We at Intel celebrate the work of these brilliant young scientists as a
way to inspire the next generation to follow them with even greater
energy and excitement into a life of invention and discovery,” said
Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the Intel Foundation. “Imagine the
new technologies, solutions and devices they will bring to bear on the
challenges we face. The Intel Science Talent Search finalists should
inspire all of us with hope for the future.”

Other top honors from the competition include:

Fourth Place: Joshua Abraham Meier of Teaneck, N.J., received a
$40,000 award for his identification of a gene that controls the rapid
aging of artificially generated stem cells, which could lead to new
treatments for cancer.

Fifth Place: Natalie Ng of Cupertino, Calif., received a $30,000
award for her development of a diagnostic tool to more accurately
predict the spread of breast cancer cells to other parts of the body.

Sixth Place: Aron Coraor of Huntington, N.Y., received a $25,000
award for his research that may explain why a certain mineral exists in
two different forms in the highlands of the moon.

Seventh Place: Zarin Ibnat Rahman of Brookings, S.D., received a
$25,000 award for her research of the effects of increased recreational
screen time on adolescent sleep patterns, stress and learning.

Eighth Place: Anand Srinivasan of Roswell, Ga., received a
$20,000 award for his neural-network-based computer model, RNNScan,
which “learns” patterns in DNA to predict the boundaries of certain
genomic regions.

Ninth Place: John Anthony Clarke of Syosset, N.Y., received a
$20,000 award for his research of X-ray emissions from the planet
Jupiter, a gas giant that harnesses a powerful magnetic field.

Tenth Place: Shaun Datta of North Potomac, Md., received a
$20,000 award for his research that used computer models and equations
to improve the understanding of the interactions of nuclear matter.

In total, the Intel Foundation awarded $1.25 million for the Intel
Science Talent Search 2014. When Intel assumed the title sponsorship 16
years ago, it increased the annual awards by more than $1 million.

This year’s finalists hail from 33 schools in 14 states. Of the 1,794
high school seniors who entered the Intel Science Talent Search 2014,
300 were announced as semifinalists in January. Of those, 40 were chosen
as finalists and invited to Washington, D.C., to compete for the top 10
awards. These finalists join the ranks of other notable Science Talent
Search alumni, who over the past 73 years, have gone on to win eight
Nobel Prizes, two Fields Medals, five National Medals of Science, 11
MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and even an Academy Award for Best
Actress.

Society for Science & the Public, a nonprofit membership organization
dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education, has
owned and administered the Science Talent Search since its inception in
1942.

“Society for Science & the Public proudly joins Intel in congratulating
Eric Chen for his impressive research toward potential new drugs for
influenza,” said Rick Bates, interim CEO and chief advancement officer
of SSP. “By linking technology and science to the problems of the world
they see around them, Eric and all the Intel Science Talent Search
finalists are tomorrow’s problem solvers.”

Because Intel views education as the foundation for innovation, Intel
and the Intel Foundation have invested more than $1 billion over the
past decade, and Intel employees have donated close to 4 million hours
toward improving education in more than 70 countries, regions and
territories.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The
company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the
foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information
about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com
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